Category: Democracy
What do a world-famous historian, a British author and a New Zealand cartoonist have in common? On the face of it, not much – except that all three have been embroiled recently in controversies that show how fragile the right of free speech has become in supposedly liberal democracies.
The Waitangi Tribunal was established by the Kirk Labour Government in 1975 through the Treaty of Waitangi Act as a permanent commission of inquiry into alleged breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi by the Crown. In 1985, as a result of intense lobbying by the iwi elite, the Lange Labour Government extended its jurisdiction to cover historic claims going back to 1840.
Like it or not, the Maori Party’s constitutional review is providing the public with an opportunity to have a say on the future of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements and our democracy. This $4 million review of our constitution was part of their 2008 coalition deal with the National Party.
The New Zealand Labour Party has embraced the politics of diversity wholeheartly and with little self-criticism since the 1970s. This presentation explains the ‘cultural turn of the Left’ and its unintended and damaging consequences.
Last month the New Zealand Geographic Board announced that it was opening a public consultation process to change the names of the North and South Islands of New Zealand. If the change goes ahead, the main islands of New Zealand could be known by their existing names, their Maori names (Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu), or both.
A constitution is an agreement which a people has about some fundamental things ~ about how they are to be governed, and the principles on which they base their government and society.There has to be agreement ~ and the very fact that we are holding this debate is proof that the Treaty and its so-called principles should not be in our constitution, because on that matter there is no agreement.
A lifetime of observation and work in the social sciences has convinced me of one thing. George Orwell was partly wrong in his classic novel 1984. The threats to the open society do not come from above. They come from all around us: from our peers. The oppression is rooted in economic interest and professional capture.
One only needs look at the present to see what New Zealand will be like in the future. The North Island will be known as Te Ika a Maui, the South Island as Te Waipounamu, and New Zealand as Aotearoa. Those who use water for commercial purposes will be charged “storage” because lakes and rivers will be known as vessels owned by iwi...
I am a long time believer that an unwritten constitution of the sort you find in New Zealand today, or the United Kingdom before it was enmeshed in the European Union, is a very good sort of constitution indeed. Among its strengths are its flexibility and incredibly democratic nature.
It’s not often that a government appointment ignites major controversy, but last week’s announcement that Dame Susan Devoy was to step into the role of Race Relations Commissioner did just that. The Race Relations Commissioner is one of six commissioners employed by the Human Rights Commission, an independent Crown entity established in 1977 that currently functions under the Human Rights Act 1993.
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